By: Alex Ortiz

It’s that time of year again!
December 14th is our General Membership meeting. Our bylaws require us to have a meeting for the entire membership annually. Please see the agenda or the posting on your plant Union Boards.

At last month’s Joint Council, the 2nd reading of the proposed bylaws changes were read and voted on. The Joint Council voted to approve the changes. Our bylaws now call for a Local 659 Organizing Committee. There are now 2 openings for each Unit to elect delegates to this committee. If you are a motived Joint Council delegate who’d like to be a part of this committee, please talk to your Unit Chairperson, Bargaining Chair or any of the Local 659 Officers.

UAW International President Shaun Fain announced last month that Region 9 Director Daniel Vicente chose to resign for personal reasons. The vacancy either needs to be filled or the International Executive Board (IEB) may choose to merge Region 9 with another Region, as per the constitution. At the time of this writing, the board has not made that decision.

The direct member elections for the IEB will take place next year (2026) after the UAW’s Constitutional Convention. You are going to get sick of me saying this, but we need to have everyone’s updated mailing address here at the Local. The reason is because the ballots will be sent by mail to your address of record. Obviously, if you received this Searchlight in the mail, you are good! If you didn’t….

Hopefully, everyone will have received this Searchlight by Thanksgiving. I truly wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your loved ones. The weather is quickly changing and we have had snow already here in Michigan. The end of the year is right around the corner.

The Holidays are not always a time of celebration for those who are alone this time of year. Please check in on your friends and neighbors . Even those who seem fine may be battling their own inner demons. If this is you or someone you know, please reach out for help. There are resources available to help. Even if it feels like it is insurmountable, depression is treatable, and suicide is preventable. You are not alone, my Sisters and Brothers.

My last article about the “NO KINGS” demonstration triggered a couple of people to leave me a few voicemails. It is apparent to me that if you are offended that people are protesting the person you worship, you may be in a cult. 20th century world history should be enough for people to recognize who the good guys are. I am not going to argue the details that are immaterial that the callers left, but I will thank them for reading the Searchlight. I did have a caller who thanked me for what I wrote… thank you, Brother.

Your UAW Local 659 Facebook page and website always have the most updated information about postings and Searchlight articles. Also, check your in-plant Union boards for additional postings.